United Airlines returns to JFK as Covid-19 lull ends 5-year hiatus

United Airlines is set to fly to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for the first time in more than five years on Sunday as the carrier takes advantage of a lull in air travel to snag space at the once airport cluttered.

United’s JFK service kicks off with a 7:30 a.m. PT flight from Los Angeles International Airport and a 9:30 a.m. PT flight from its San Francisco International Airport hub. Both will be operated with a Boeing 767-300. The JFK-San Francisco flight departs at 5:10 p.m. ET and departs for Los Angeles at 7 p.m. ET.

United service in the New York area is focused at its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

Carriers have withdrawn service in the northeast during the Covid-19 pandemic, with business and international travel still at paltry levels, although domestic demand for leisure has grown nationwide.

Scheduled airline service in New York State is down 56% in April from the same month of 2019, more than in any other state, according to Airlines for America, an industry group that represents most of the major American carriers. The national average is a drop of 32%. This makes it easier for airlines to add services.

United CEO Scott Kirby, who took the reins last May, said leaving JFK in October 2015 was a mistake and expressed a desire to return to New York Airport as the shift of transcontinental flights to Newark made it possible for competitor American Airlines to win a lucrative business. clients.

CNBC first announced in September that United were planning to return to JFK.